Page 120 of Marcus: Sins of the Father

BAM!

Jackal’s body falls almost in slow motion, a look of confusion plastered forever on his face and a bullet hole through his forehead.

I’d been searching for one more face—Trigger, the man Brandy named as the one who tried to rape her. “Which one of you is Trigger?”

Snake points the man out. He stands only a couple of feet from Jackal’s body.

Crash looks over at me, and I know that’s my cue. I push between some brothers.

“And yours,” I spit out, a split second before I shoot.

“Who-ee,” Green hoots. “Nailed him right between the eyes.”

“Hey.” Shane slaps Green on the chest. “I think you just found Marcus a name. Bullseye.”

“Bullseye.” Cole seems to be testing it out. “Yeah, I think I like that.”

“Let’s get our girls home,” Crash calls.

“We good now?” Snake asks.

“Yeah, we’re good.” Cole climbs on his motorcycle and twists his throttle. The bikes pull out as I jog over to the van.

The girls sit in stunned silence.

Harley finally breaks it. “I think it’s safe to say they won’t be bothering us anymore.”

Brandy laughs. I’m not sure if it’s tiredness, relief, or hysteria, but I love the sound.

“Your laugh brightens my soul.” I squeeze her leg. “Let’s go home.”

She lays her hand on top of mine and squeezes it back.

I feel relief she’s okay, but I also have this dread that something has turned. I couldn’t keep her safe, and the thought gnaws at me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE – DUMBASS

Marcus—

A month has passed since we rescued the girls, and still every time I unlock the door to my house and step over the threshold, my mind flashes to that moment when I saw my place destroyed and my girl missing.

I’m only here to grab some more clothes. I’ve been staying at Brandy’s every night since we got her back. She knows she’s safe. Hell, she saw us kill the men who terrorized her and Harley Jean, but we both know she’s not ready to step foot in my place. She may never be ready.

Each time I walk through this door, the realization that I failed her hits me in the face all over again.

My phone vibrates, and a name flashes across the screen. Brandy’s father. I take a deep breath. She told him what happened yesterday, so I’ve known this call was coming.

I swallow and put it to my ear. “Gerald.”

“You want to tell me why I’m just learning about my daughter being kidnapped?” he snaps, getting straight to the point.

“Everything happened so fast, and we were heading to get them before I had a chance.” I know he won’t be happy with that answer. I wouldn’t be either, but it’s the truth. Everything did unfold quickly. Thank God it did, too, because the girls had mostly been untouched when we got to them.

“Bullshit. I should have been your first call. I told you your life was too dangerous. I knew it, but I liked you, so I disregarded what was right in front of my face. You can’t keep her safe.”

His words cut through me. Maybe because deep inside, I believe them.

“You need to let Brandy go, Marcus. If you have any real feelings for her, you’ll break it off. Admit it, you know she’s better off without you.”

---